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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Cleartune, iPhone chromatic tuner - beginner tip
Cleartune, iPhone chromatic tuner - beginner tip
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Jinie
2 posts
Jan 03, 2013
1:15 PM
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Hi
Just a small tip for other iPhone packing beginners out there.
Raw beginner here. Picked up my first harmonica on Dec 23rd, and purchased Adams "Beginner deluxe" package on Dec 24th.
Been spending the past week or so practicing single notes, both tongue blocking and lip puckering, and I've got most of them nailed by now, driving my wife and kid crazy with scales and "Oh Suzanna", or so I thought.
Then i started on Adams video on bending, and my huffing and puffing gave "crazy" a whole new meaning :)
Having never played any instrument before, I find it rather hard to "guess" when I'm hitting the right note, or any note for that matter. I'd make an "eeeoo" sound, and the pitch would change, and I thought i had it nailed, though it never sounded like Adam's bend.
After a few hours of less than pretty sounds I started searching for something to help me, and I saw several references to "Tune-O-Matic", which may be good (haven't tried it), but doesn't really fit my current practice location, which is in the car :)
A few hours later, I stumble onto "Cleartune", which is a chromatic tuner for iPhone/iPad, and it fits my needs perfectly.
(I'm in no way affiliated with the developer, just sharing helpful information)
https://itunes.apple.com/en/app/cleartune-chromatic-tuner/id286799607?mt=8
Now for some reason my 4D isn't bending anywhere, and while my 2D sounds like a severe asthma attack, i'm able to predictably bend 2D to both F# and F, both clear and strong.
Anyway, I'm sure I'll get it with practice, and with my iPhone on the dashboard, I'm able to see when i'm doing something right or wrong.
Hope this helps someone :)
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jim
1353 posts
Jan 03, 2013
3:21 PM
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don't buy this poor app please. Save your money for a better tuner - iStrobosoft!
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Jinie
3 posts
Jan 03, 2013
4:17 PM
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Apart from the fancy extras (mics, cables, etc), i doubt there's much difference between the two from a technical viewpoint.
Assuming no extras, it's the same microphone picking up the soundwaves, the same AD converter doing the analog => digital conversion, after which it's more or less just mathematics, or in iOS's case, Core Audio API calls.
My guess is that both are using Apple's Core Audio to sample and scale the pitch, a sample tutorial here ( http://demetrimiller.com/2011/01/25/pitch-detection-in-ios-4-x/ )
As for the display, I guess it's up to personal taste.
I'm no professional musician so I haven't got a clue how well "tuned" they each are.
I am a professional software engineer though, which is what i'm basing my above guess on.
Anyway, all I know is that its helping me bend notes :)
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Chickenthief
323 posts
Jan 03, 2013
5:14 PM
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I have Cleartune on my I phone. I use it but Jim is not the only one that I have seen who complained about it on this forum, and he is at least the second customizer to do so, therefor if I had it to do over again I think that I would come out here and post a thread and ask the membership at large what they thought was the best tool for what I am doing and why. Every once in a while you run into someone on this forum who has an opinion.
I know that some guys wouldn't recommend a tuner at all, they would say get a piano. I think that even if you find something that you like better later on your Cleartune will probably be enough to get you started. I wish you much success in your new endeavor and much fun Jinie.
Last Edited by on Jan 03, 2013 5:21 PM
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Gnarly
450 posts
Jan 03, 2013
5:41 PM
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I'm using it on the iPad--I don't adjust for temper, either, just eyeball it using 440 as a reference.
I use my ear a lot . . .
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jim
1357 posts
Jan 04, 2013
1:15 AM
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I know it looks good, but as a tuner it deserves to be better.
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Steamrollin Stan
670 posts
Jan 04, 2013
3:02 AM
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Far out, been at it a week or so, your muscle memory has to develop, the riffs in your head have to be 2nd nature, maybe forget all the tech savy crap and just start to play and focus on your playing and learning curves and develop, 4-5 years here and still learning.
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Jinie
4 posts
Jan 04, 2013
3:35 AM
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@Steamrollin Stan : I know it requires (a lot of) practice, and i'm putting 1-2 hours into it every day.
But after doing nothing but "Oh Suzanna" and scales for 3-4 days, my mind was craving new things to do, so i put bending in there as well.
The way i'm practicing is doing a little of what i already know, scales and a few tunes, and a lot of what i'm not good at, 2D, 4D bend, and 7B for some reason.
I also try to get some breathing exercises in there, along with articulation, and various other stuff.
Finally i try to find tabs for something i can play at my "current level", and then try to learn that song/riff/whatever.
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Steamrollin Stan
671 posts
Jan 04, 2013
4:07 AM
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Dan gage, and many others on yt are there for the asking, free and more than helpfull, adam gussow has some great work, watch, listen, learn, btw, Osuzanna was my first song i learnt 35 years ago, i now hate it with a passion. You'll get better once you realise what and how to bend, use a C harp diatonic i think.
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Jinie
5 posts
Jan 04, 2013
4:07 AM
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@Steamrollin Stan : I picked up Jon Gindick's book, along with Adam's beginners package, and i'm working my way through both.
I have a 50 minute commute to work, of which the 40 or so is a straight road without any distractions, so i practice simple stuff there.
Then spend another hour or so after i get home, practicing whatever requires more concentration than driving allows.
My main goal is that by summer (June/July) I'll be good enough to play/practice some slow blues (solo), outdoors, without being ridiculed :)
I have no idea if that goal is reachable, but i'm giving it a shot. If i fail there's always another winter and another summer :)
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arzajac
934 posts
Jan 04, 2013
4:49 AM
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"Having never played any instrument before, I find it rather hard to "guess" when I'm hitting the right note, or any note for that matter. I'd make an "eeeoo" sound, and the pitch would change, and I thought i had it nailed, though it never sounded like Adam's bend."
I think you need to work on your ears as well as the harp. It may seem like another mountain to climb, but it's actually fun.
Ditch the tuner as soon as possible! There are plenty of audio sources available, you can go on a number of websites and play a virtual piano. You can get audio sources for scales, etc...
It it of utmost importance that you can hear the pitch in your head. You won't be able to play (well) unless you hear it in your head.
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SmokeJS
24 posts
Jan 04, 2013
4:54 AM
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Where I come from Smokey would call playing harp while driving distracted driving.
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Jinie
6 posts
Jan 04, 2013
4:52 AM
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@arzajac I usually try to play by ear, and i find myself going "oh that's a 2D, and a ..." when listening to music, so playing is definitely helping me recognize notes.
I guess eventually i'll get around to learning the layout on the harmonica in terms of notes, instead of a series of blow/draw holes.
I use the tuner for muscle memory training, and only for bends, if that makes any sense.
To be honest though, I kinda had a breakthrough yesterday evening, where i found myself getting closer and closer to the desired note, and I've only used the tuner a few times since, to confirm that "when i do this, it comes out as a C#".
As for never playing any instruments before, that's not entirely true.
When i was 10 or so, my mom had an electronic organ, and because she was absolutely terrible at playing it, i taught myself to read sheet music, and play a few songs, just to prove that it could be done :)
That was almost 30 years ago, and I haven't attempted to read or play music until now.
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Zadozica
237 posts
Jan 04, 2013
6:37 AM
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Look, if you tune harps then you need a real good tuner. If you are just trying to see your bends, then Cleartune is fine. I have the Cleartune and the iStrobosoft. Frankly, for learning the bends, they are both fine.
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JInx
361 posts
Jan 04, 2013
6:42 AM
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Alert! Alert! keep your attention on the road, don't harp and drive.
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